❄️ Winter Wonderland
Bundle up for our Winter Wonderland retro! As we reflect, let's celebrate smooth sledding, thaw out any frosty obstacles, and prepare our team to glide into a brighter future together. Snow much to discuss!
Template Columns
⛷️ Smooth Sledding
Celebrate the wins and collaborative moments that made our winter journey enjoyable.
Base column: What Went Well🥶 Frosty Challenges
Identify the icy patches and snowdrifts that slowed us down or made things difficult.
Base column: What Went Wrong🏔️ Paths to Better Peaks
Share ideas to melt obstacles and help us climb higher in our next sprint.
Base column: What We Want to ImproveAbout this template
The Winter Wonderland retrospective invites teams to celebrate recent successes, address challenges, and collaboratively chart a course toward future improvements, all within a seasonal, engaging framework.
When to use this template
This retrospective is ideal at the close of a challenging sprint, during the winter season, or when your team needs a creative, energizing format to revitalize discussions.
How to facilitate
Welcome everyone and briefly introduce the Winter Wonderland theme to set an inviting, imaginative tone.
Review each column's focus: ⛷️ Smooth Sledding for achievements, 🥶 Frosty Challenges for blockers, and 🏔️ Paths to Better Peaks for improvement ideas.
Give participants a few minutes of silent reflection, then ask them to add notes to each column individually.
Invite team members to share highlights from their notes, starting with Smooth Sledding. Encourage recognition and shout-outs.
Move on to Frosty Challenges, ensuring everyone has the space to discuss sticking points safely and constructively.
Facilitate a solution-focused conversation in Paths to Better Peaks, turning challenges into actionable improvement ideas.
Collaboratively prioritize which improvement actions the team will commit to for the next sprint.
Wrap up by acknowledging everyone's input and recapping agreed actions, ending on a positive, forward-looking note.
Pro Tips
Use winter-themed visuals or music to make the session more fun and keep energy high.
Prompt quieter team members with direct, warm questions to ensure all voices are heard.
Encourage linking challenges to specific achievements for balanced, constructive insights.
Summarize key discussion points visually as you go using shared whiteboards or mind maps for clarity.
FAQ
What if my team finds the theme distracting?
Acknowledge all preferences and offer to keep the structure while minimizing thematic elements if needed. Adapt the tone to suit your team's culture.
How can we ensure action items aren’t forgotten after the retro?
Assign clear owners to each action and review progress at the next retrospective or sprint planning session.
What if the conversation gets stuck in 'Frosty Challenges'?
Guide the team gently to focus on solutions and reframe obstacles as opportunities for positive change in the next column.
At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
4-12 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
What Went Well, What Went Wrong, What We Want to Improve
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective